HOLLYWOOD HOMES EVACUATED AS SUSPECTED METH LAB FOUND

Police raided a suspected methamphetamine lab Tuesday night after an anonymous tipster told them a man was using his home to cook up the drug, officials said.

Detectives knocked on the door just after 4 p.m. and inside found what appeared to be recently cooked crystal meth, said police Capt. Tony Rode. They also spotted a chemical used to make the highly addictive drug, he said.

After the man, who was not identified, told detectives he had several high-powered weapons, ammunition and grenades inside the home in the 600 block of South 64th Avenue, police evacuated between 40 and 50 homes in a two-block area, Rode said.

"We had two issues," Rode said. "Our primary concern was public safety. The secondary issue [was] the meth lab."

The Broward Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad was sent inside to secure the weapons. The Drug Enforcement Administration was called in to help dismantle the lab.

Securing and taking apart the lab took hours, and while workers in white hazardous material suits walked the streets, neighbors milled about in disbelief that officials were scrutinizing the man in custody.

"Anything they find is going to be a total surprise to everybody," said Merilea Ordoqui as several neighbors nodded in agreement. "If somebody needs something he's there. During the hurricane, he let us plug in to his generator."

Residents said it was no secret that the man collected war memorabilia, including grenades, but said it all seemed decorative. One of their major concerns Tuesday seemed to be about his son, who Rode said was removed from the home and staying with a family member.

No arrests were made Tuesday. The man was cooperating with investigators, Rode said.

This is the third time in a month that local and federal agents shut down a drug lab in South Florida.

Since October 2002, there have been nine methamphetamine lab seizures in South Florida, seven of those in Broward County.

Akilah Johnson can be reached at akjohnson@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4631.